[fullwidth background_color=”” background_image=”” background_parallax=”none” enable_mobile=”no” parallax_speed=”0.3″ background_repeat=”no-repeat” background_position=”left top” video_url=”” video_aspect_ratio=”16:9″ video_webm=”” video_mp4=”” video_ogv=”” video_preview_image=”” overlay_color=”” overlay_opacity=”0.5″ video_mute=”yes” video_loop=”yes” fade=”no” border_size=”0px” border_color=”” border_style=”” padding_top=”20″ padding_bottom=”20″ padding_left=”0″ padding_right=”0″ hundred_percent=”no” equal_height_columns=”no” hide_on_mobile=”no” menu_anchor=”” class=”” id=””][title size=”1″ content_align=”left” style_type=”underline solid” sep_color=”#000000″ margin_top=”” margin_bottom=”” class=”” id=””]Bipartisan group of lawmakers appeal for funding for industrial hemp research[/title][fusion_text]Monday, November 23rd 2015
A bipartisan group of lawmakers is appealing to Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack to award research funding for industrial hemp research. The letter was signed by 37 House members and 12 senators, including Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., and Ron Wyden of Oregon, the top Democrat on the Senate Finance Committee. The House members included Tom Massie, a Kentucky Republican, and Jared Polis, a Colorado Democrat, who are co-sponsoring a bill to legalize industrial hemp nationwide. The lawmakers said the 26 states with laws authorizing industrial hemp pilot studies or production have received conflicting information from the USDA as to whether their programs are eligible for federal grants under the 2014 farm bill and whether the funding is even worth pursuing. Importing hemp fiber is legal, however, and Canada and countries in Europe and Asia are feeding the U.S. domestic market’s demand for the product. That could change if industrial hemp is legalized with bipartisan bills S 134, sponsored by Wyden, or HR 525, co-sponsored by Massie and Polis.
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